The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Schizachyrium scoparium and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘MinnblueA’. ‘MinnblueA’ represents a new cultivar of little bluestem, an ornamental grass grown for landscape use.
The inventor discovered and selected the new cultivar, ‘MinnblueA’, in a cultivated field in St. Paul, Minn., in the summer of 1996. ‘MinnblueA’ was discovered as a naturally occurring variant seedling in a cultivated field sown for field evaluations of little bluestem. The field from which ‘MinnblueA’ was selected was sown with seed collected in the fall of 1995 from a field of open pollinated, unnamed plants of Schizachyrium scoparium grown for seed production in Benton County, near Princeton, Minn. The seed collected from the unnamed plants of Schizachyrium scoparium was bulked from several individuals, grown in the greenhouse and then plants were transplanted into the cultivated field in St. Paul. It is not possible to identify the parents for ‘MinnblueA’.
The new cultivar ‘MinnblueA’ is unique in several characteristics, which makes this new invention unlike any other known cultivars or varieties of Schizachyrium scoparium known to the inventor. ‘MinnblueA’ has a taller, more upright form than is typical of little bluestem. ‘MinnblueA’ has dark blue to burgundy foliage during the summer, turning red to purple and violet in the fall. The summer and fall color is unique on a plant that has a tall columnar stature.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by root division in St. Paul, Minn. in 1999 by the inventor. The vegetative propagules of this cultivar have been determined to be stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.